{"id":118725,"date":"2020-10-20T14:27:18","date_gmt":"2020-10-20T12:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=118725"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:25:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:25:08","slug":"first-year-student-alexandra-studies-psychology-and-doesnt-want-to-be-anywhere-else-but-rotterdam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2020\/10\/20\/first-year-student-alexandra-studies-psychology-and-doesnt-want-to-be-anywhere-else-but-rotterdam\/","title":{"rendered":"First-year student Alexandra studies Psychology and doesn’t want to be anywhere else but Rotterdam"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alexandra Pop (18) has not regretted her move from Romania for a single second. Even if the Netherlands is going into lockdown and she will not be allowed to go outside at all. The new surroundings, the people and the study, it all feels like an adventure. “This is a new chapter in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

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For Alexandra, who hails from Bucharest, studying psychology was for many years a secret dream. Her grandmother said it would be a waste of her time. Other people around her said the same thing, because it would be easier to build up a good career with a different kind of study, surely? \u201cIt\u2019s just a hobby,\u201d she was told. Or to go and do it as a second study. \u201cI\u2019m so glad I did it though,\u201d Alexandra says. \u201cEnrolling was the best compulsion I ever felt, the best idea I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n

It felt good<\/h2>

A year ago, Alexandra was still convinced that she would embark on a Hotel Management study. Even though she had been reading online articles about psychology habitually since she was fourteen. \u201cThe human mind, emotions, thoughts, I found it all so incredibly fascinating.\u201d When she was sorting out which study she wanted to do, she looked around schools all over Europe and had already heard a bit about Erasmus University from friends. \u201cAnd I had a hunch about Rotterdam. I can\u2019t quite describe it, but it felt good.\u201d So, Alexandra signed herself up and counted the nights until April 15, the day she would be notified about her enrolment. \u201cI was so happy when I saw that I got in. I immediately forgot all about hotel management.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alexandra studied until late last night. \u201cEarlier this week I hadn\u2019t done enough work and I don\u2019t want to go into class unprepared,\u201d she says. It\u2019s quite a demanding study, Alexandra finds. A lot of reading, a lot of specialist terms. \u201cIt is sometimes difficult to grasp. I really have to take the time to understand what I\u2019m reading, otherwise I can\u2019t take part in the discussions during any of the get-togethers.\u201d The first lot of fellow students have already dropped out, but she does not even want to consider that. \u201cI did not like the first block on social psychology. This second block deals with personal psychology. How do your thoughts develop and how does your behaviour develop? \u2013 I find that really fascinating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Things would have been different at home. In the comfort of my own home and with my own group of friends, I wouldn\u2019t have had these experiences\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

No more parties<\/h2>

Alexandra has her own studio apartment in Xior. Parties were held regularly on the rooftop terrace at the beginning of summer. \u201cI think everyone who lives here went to those parties. But then the corona infections rose, and we learned about the rules here in the Netherlands, so now there are no more parties. We sometimes sit together in the communal area.\u201d Alexandra does not have any offline lessons; she finds that a real shame. \u201cThe internet doesn\u2019t always work very well in Xior. Obviously, everyone is always on the internet, given that everyone has online lectures.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the lousy internet, the lack of parties, and online classes, Alexandra does not regret moving. \u201cThings would have been different at home. In the comfort of my own home and with my own group of friends, I wouldn\u2019t have had these experiences. This is a new chapter in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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Read more<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t